wowwikifandomcom-20200223-history
Elune
Elune is the major deity worshipped by the night elves. She is associated with the larger of Azeroth's two moons, the White Lady, and is the biological mother of Cenarius. In tauren mythology, She is known as Mu'sha, and is the left eye of the Earthmother. Formal worship of Elune dates back about 14,000 years, before the rise of Azshara and the Highborne, though She was certainly worshipped long before that, probably by the most primitive of Kaldorei. Her original cult center was near Zin-Azshari, but the Sisters of Elune moved the temple to Suramar when it was clear Azshara cared more for the luxury of herself and the Highborne than anyone else. After Suramar fell, Elune was the main source of hope for the millions of refugees fleeing the Burning Legion. Elune's worship was essentially universal (no cult centers) for the Night Elves in the ten thousand years between the War of the Ancients and the Third War (the Long Vigil). The center of Her worship is now the Temple of the Moon in Darnassus. Tyrande Whisperwind is Her High Priestess, but many Priestesses, and for the first time, male priests, are found throughout the world, ready to heal war-weary Azeroth with Her light. Night Elf Beliefs Elune is the central focus of worship for the Sentinels and the Sisters of Elune in night elf culture, while the druids tend to focus more on nature and Elune's son Cenarius, though they believe in Her power. Elune has never made Herself known to any living creature in the physical plane in a physical form, though She is somtimes depicted as a night elf female with a skin that glows with intensity, eyes of pure silver moonlight, and Her clothing adorned with silvery jewelry. The night elves have various beliefs regarding Her powers, including, but by no means limited to: * The ability of calming races engaged in battle by singing a song of peace at night, until sunrise. * The ability to heal or grant a follower the gift of healing. * A powerful personal shield to defend Her Chosen * The ability to resurrect a dead creature. * Causing a rain of solid moonlight to fall when Her priestesses face enemies (Priestess of the Moon spell: Starfall, Night Elf Priest spell: Starshards) (Note that these powers are described in a variety of sources, and some may never actually appear in WoW) The night elves believe that Elune protects all living beings and let them grow and thrive, casting Her calming influence over many races to avoid conflicts. With Malorne and Cenarius, Elune helped the primitive night elves evolve without becoming corrupted by the arcane magic of the Well of Eternity for many centuries. Despite their vigil over the elves, Azshara and the highborne were corrupted by the magic of the Well. Divine Interventions *Elune is credited in mythology with transforming Aviana into a Demigoddess as a reward for being a good messenger *Elune enabled the Sisters to communicate over long distances despite the loss of power from the Well of Eternity. *Elune granted Tyrande the power to heal any wound she attempted to. *She also created a physical shield around Tyrande to prevent her from coming to harm in Azshara's palace, defending her from the likes of the jealous Lady Vashj. *Elune's strength aided Tyrande and the sentinels during the Long Vigil. *Starshards; Starfall She is not likely to ever appear in physical, or even non-physical form (except perhaps in a hallucination). Worship of Elune is meant to grant peace and these occasional interventions- unlike the Aspects, Guardians, or even mortals, She is not meant to actively defend (the War of the Ancients and the Battle of Mt. Hyjal notwithstanding)- She is abstract and spiritual, a light in the darkness, hope in despair. Religious Practice The night elves use the word "god" in plural ("Gods help us all"; "May the gods have mercy"), and the Temple of the Moon in Suramar had frescos and murals depicting Elune and many other gods (actual gods, not demigods) shaping the world. We infer that the night elf religion, though centered around Elune, is actually polytheistic (the druids' reverence of certain demigods supports this). Elune's worship therefore is more like a dominant mystery cult than a monotheism, similar to the religions of Ancient Egypt or Ancient Greece on Earth. The Tauren and the Earthen were also known to honor, if not outright worship Elune. The Earthen were aware that it was She who gave birth to Cenarius, and were surprised to hear that Ysera was regarded as his mother. It's unknown if this means that the Earthen worshipped Her, or were merely better-informed about the origins of Kalimdor's demigods. The Tauren myth, the White Stag and the Moon, relates how Apa'ro (Malorn) fled the Shu'halo (tauren) be escaping into the sky, but was entangled by the stars. Mu'sha saw him and fell in love with him, and agreed to free him if he loved her. Mu'sha's actions appear slightly out of character with Elune as understood by the Night elves and the Earthen, but it might be helpful to interpret it as a "just-so" story that the Tauren used to explain the origin of Cenarius. Ysera and Elune Many fans theorized that Elune and Ysera are the same being, since they are shown both described as the mother of Cenarius and show great compassion for the lesser races. However, Blizzards lore department has officially denied this as it would cause to many paradoxes within the history of Azeroth, so called retcon. Note also that the visual magic wielded by Ysera is green, while Elune's is silver. Category:LoreCategory:Demigods Elune as Mother of the Night Elves While one legend states that night elves decended from trolls (a theory created by the trolls but fiercely disputed by the elves), other legends imply that night elves originated from Elune or one of Her offspring, or least changed into her likeness. If that is so it would explain why they share resembalance to both dryads, and keepers of the grove, and the biological mother of Cenarius. In modern mythological studies, Elune can be considered a "Great Goddess" figure. See Myth for more information.